Brush carriage for electric machines



March 24, 1931. w. N. SEWELL BRUSH CARRIAGE FOR ELECTRIC MACHlNES Filed Dec. 21', 29

g a ,a m 6, my aw Patented Mar. 24, 1931 UNITED STATES WILLIAM N. SEWELL, OF WINCHESTER, KENTUCKY BRUSH CARRIAGE FOR ELECTRIC IIZACHINES Application filed December 21, 1929. Serial No. 415,743.

This invention relates to a carriage for holding a brush such as used in connection with a commutator.

One of the objects of the invention is to mount the brush adjustably whereby,,by the actuation of a single adjusting element, the brush may be fed toward the commutator and, at the same time, be shifted a short distance longitudinally thereof.

Another object is to so mount a brush that wear on the commutator resulting from contact therewith will be distributed throughout the length of the commutator so that an annular groove will not be formed therein and the life of the commutator will be greatly prolonged.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been shown.

In said drawings,

Figure 1 is a central longitudinal section through the brush carriage, a brush being shown in position therein.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the housing portion of the carriage.

Figure 3 is a section on line 33, Figure 2.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference, A designates a portion of the machine frame or brush yoke having an opening B in which is arranged an insulating ring G.

Extending through this ring is a tubular stem 1 extending from a base 2 and havingits free end portion screw-threaded exteriorly as shown at 3 and interiorly as shown at 4. An insulating washer 5 is interposed between base 2 and the structure A while another insulating washer 6 is interposed between the structure A and a washer 7 which constitutes an abutment for a nut 8. This nut and a jamb nut 9 co-operate to grip a washer 10 to which is connected the wire W. It is understood, of

course, that the nuts 8 and 9 engage the exterior threads 3 on the stem 1.

Base 2 is interposed between the side walls of a housing 11. This housing is preferably formed of a sheet of metal bent to provide the side walls 12 and the end wall 13. The side walls are fastened to the sides of the base 2 by screws 14 and a slot 15 can be provided in each side wall 12 close to and parallel with the bottom edge of the wall. The wall 13 is at much shorter than the base 2 and the side walls 12 are inclined outwardly away from the wall 13 to form a seat for a deflecting plate 16. This plate is hingedly connected at one end to the wall 13 while its other end has one or more openings 17 adapted to receive ears 18 extending from the base 2. Pins 19 are insertable through the ears and, when in position, will overlie the plate 16 and hold it against movement relative to the side walls of the housing.

slidably mounted in the tubular stem 1 is a tubular shank 20. This shank is made integral with a sleeve 21 located in the housing and provided with guide lugs 22 at the sides thereof adapted to slide in the slots 15. The sleeve has its upper end beveled as shown at 23 and projecting upwardly from this beveled end is a tongue 24. The brush 25 is slidably mounted in the sleeve 21 and friction is reso duced by providing rollers 26 so located in the sleeve as to engage opposed portions of the brush and facilitate longitudinal movement of the brush toward the commutator a portion of which has been indicated at D.

A coiled spring 27 is seated in the shank and bears at one end against the inner wall of the shank while its other end bears against a screw plug 28 engaging the interior threads 4 in the stem 1.

An opening 29 is formed in the deflecting plate 16 and is so positioned that, when sleeve 21 is adjusted toward the wall 13 of the housing, tongue 24: will move into the opening 29. This has been indicated by broken lines in Figure 1.

It will be obvious that whenever it is found desirable to adjust the brush 25 toward the commutator D it merely becomes necessary to screw the plug 28 into the stem 1 so as to maintain spring 27 under compression. As the brush wears away this spring will shift it toward the wall 13 and at the same time the rounded outer end of the brush, being in en gagement with the inclined deflector plate 16, will cause the brush to feed toward the coinmutator. This results in an even distribution of wear over the face of the commutator while wear on the brush is being compensated for. Consequently the life of the commutator is greatly prolonged because an annular groove will not be worn therein as in stru ures wherein the brush is not adjusted to rlfferent points on the commutator.

It is to be understood that by reducing the angle of the deflecting plate 16 and making the brush. shorter, it might be possible to eliminate the anti-friction rollers 26 and also slot 15 and lugs 22 because there would be less pressure of the brush against the deflecting plate and, consequently, less resistance in the operation of the parts.

Importance is attached to the fact that the deflecting plate 16 is hingedly mounted. Thus when the brush becomes worn, the plate can be swung away from its normal position, the brush removed, and a new one substituted, without the necessity of removing the carriage from the machine.

Obviously various changes in theconstruction of the device can be made within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is: V

1. The combination with a brush carriage, of a brush, means for adjusting the brush longitudinally of the carriage, and means slidably engaged by the brush during said longitudinal adjustment for shifting said brush in the direction of its lengthto compensate for wear.

2. A brush carriage including a housing, a deflecting element carried thereby, a brush in the housing, and means for shifting the brush against the deflecting element to move it simultaneously in two directions.

3. In a brush carriage the combination with a housing and. a deflecting element carried thereby, of a sleeve, a brush therein, and means for shifting the-sleeve and brush relative tov the housing and deflecting element to move the brush simultaneously in two directions.

4. A brush carriage including a housing, a deflecting element carried thereby, a brush, and: a spring-actuated structure for pressing the brush yieldingly against the deflecting element thereby to move the brush simultaneously in two directions to compensate for wear. I

5. A brush carriage including a housing, tubular means for connecting the housing to a supporting structure, a deflecting element carried by the housing, a brush in the housing, and spring-actuated means for holding the brush and pressing it against the deflecting means thereby to move the brush simultaneously in two directions to compensate for wear.

6. A brush carriage including a housing, a tubular member for connecting the same to a supporting structure, a deflecting element carried by the housing, springactuated means projecting into and guided by the tubular member, and a brush carried by said means and maintained thereby normally pressed against the deflecting element thereby to simultaneously shift the brush in two directions to compensate for wear.

7. A brush carriage including a housing, a tubularmember for connecting the same to a supporting structure, a deflecting element carried by the housing, a sleeve, a tubular shank projecting from the sleeve and into the tubular member, a brush movably mounted in the sleeve, and resilient means in the shankfor pressing the brush yieldingly against the deflecting element thereby to simultaneously shift the brush in two directions to compensate for wear.

8. A brush ca riage including a housing, a

to, means for holding said element against.

movement relative to the housing, a sleeve in the housing, means for guiding the sleeve for movement relative to the housing, a brush carried by the sleeve, and resilient means for actuating the sleeve, said means cooperating with the deflecting element to move the brush simultaneously in two directions relative to the housing to compensate for wear.

10. A brush carriage including a housing,

a deflecting element movably connected there-' to, means for holding said element against movement relative to the housing, a sleeve in the housing,.means for guiding the sleeve for movement relative to the housing, a brush carried by the sleeve, resilient means for actuating the sleeve, said means cooperating with the deflecting element to move the brush simultaneously in two directions relative to the housing to compensate for wear, and anti-friction means carried by the sleeve for engagement by the brush.

11. A brush carriage including a housing, a deflecting element movably connected thereto, means for holding said element against movement relative to the housing, a sleeve 

